Preparing For Floods

Recent flooding events across the UK have shown the devastating impact that flooding can have on people’s lives and businesses.

While it is not possible to eliminate the risk of flooding altogether, many practical steps can be taken to reduce the cost of flood damage repairs and speed up recovery times. Although existing river and flood defences protect extensive areas of the UK,they cannot be designed to protect against extreme flooding events. Flood defences can only be implemented in areas where the potential benefits
outweigh the financial costs.

Guidance on flooding has been produced to provide guidance to property owners on how they can improve the flood resistance of their properties. The guide is also intended for use by developers, local planning authorities and others involved in construction of new buildings, and renovation of existing buildings, at risk of flooding. If adopted, the principles set out within this guide should help reduce the stress and disruption of flooding and provide a more sustainable approach to flood risk.